What: The Charlie Banana 2-in-1 training pants are twice as nice because they also double as a reusable swim diaper! The outer layer is waterproof while the inside is a soft organic cotton lining. Available in 4 sizes to fit children 11-55 pounds in a variety of prints and colors.

Features: They can be used as daytime training pants OR a swim diaper. Easy to get on and off and economical compared to buying packs and packs and packs of disposable training pants!

Green Factor: Organic cotton and non-disposable

Bonus: If you buy them from Diapers.com on Amazon, you can get them for about $6 less than other online retailers

I know it sounds silly to worry about butter wrappers but they can’t be recycled because of the oil so what, if anything, can you do with them? Well, there are actually quite a few things you can do with them and if you find yourself with more than you need at the moment, you can always freeze them by folding them in half with the dry side on the outside.

Grease Pans: So easy, and just the right amount of grease!

Corn on the Cob: Buttering corn on the cob without getting the whole butter stick all corny and your corn all greasy.

Perfectly Cut Cakes: Grease your knife with a butter wrapper before slicing up a cake for perfect, professional-looking slices.

Stop Using Non-Stick Spray: Who needs a chemical-laden spray when youâ€™ve got a butter wrapper? You wonâ€™t be drowning your dinner or baked goods in butter, but youâ€™ll get just the right amount of grease.

Lightly-Buttered Toast: Grease your toast with a wrapper for a light coating of butter.

Wrap Homemade Candies: Making caramel for the holidays? Wrap cut pieces with butter wrappers instead of parchment or wax paper.

Separating Hamburger Patties: Patty up your meat and between each one place a butter wrapper. They won’t stick to each other or themselves and can help keep things stacked together and taking up less space in your fridge or freezer.

Make Rice Krispie Treats Easier: Pressing Rice Krispie Treats into the pan can be super messy and sticky. Use a butter wrapper to push your treats into place and keep your hands clean!

As Antarctic glaciers continue to melt at an alarming rate, we must consider how our national coastlines will be changing as ocean levels rise. NASA and the University of California Irvine recently published a report about this and the organization Climate Central used the data to have an artist create very photorealistic renderings of what our national coastal landmarks will look like in the future.

The Jefferson Memorial

Additionally, Climate Central has created interactive maps that allow you toÂ explore sea level and coastal flood risks across the U.S. for eight states. Please take a moment to look at the startling renderings and the interactive maps to get a glimpse of our future in a much warmer world.

While a scarf is often a winter necessity for those of you above the Mason-Dixon, I’m more into scarves as a fashion accessory since it doesn’t get all that cold here in Florida. This simple tutorial is for a super stylish infinity scarf that, weather notwithstanding, you can wear all year long.

Not only is this no-sew fringed scarf really easy to make and very fashionable (fringe is EVERYWHERE right now), it’s also a great way to upcycle some of those unwanted t-shirts we all have clogging up our drawers!

And? They make great (read: inexpensive) holiday gifts!

You’ll Need:

• One old T-Shirt – Bigger, wider shirts will make allow you to make a longer scarf. Smaller, more narrow shirts will make your scarf shorter.

• Cloth Scissors – These will make cutting your fringe a lot easier.

Step 1: Find a t-shirt that you won’t mind cutting up. If you don’t have one at home, you can pick up tons of them at the thrift store for almost nothing.

Step 2: Cut horizontally across the shirt just below the armholes, to create a rectangular tube. Then do the same just above the hem.

Step 3: Start making vertical cuts all the way around the tube that extend from the raw edge upward. The longer the cut, the longer the fringe will be. This is optional but if you want more fringe, you can cut strips on the opposite side as well.

Step 4: Tug down on each strand to elongate it and curl the edges. You can also knot the ends of each strand for some extra detail.

(click image to see at full size)

Features: Thick paper straws coated with food-grade wax to protect them from liquid. Yes, these are single-use items but if you are in a situation where you need straws and glass or steel straws are not an option (i.e. parties, large gatherings, house guests) this is a far better option than plastic straws, which are typically non-recyclable.

Green Factor: Biodegradable, compostable and made with food-grade soy inks

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a growing problem in the northern Pacific Ocean and one that could dramatically alter life on our planet within the next 20 years.

â€œI remember the first time I felt it; I was paddling out on my surfboard and noticed a mushy, plastic-like substance sliding through my fingers. Thatâ€™s what started my obsession with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,â€ says charity fundraiser and environmentalist Veronica Grey. â€œThe patch is located between Hawaii and California in the northern Pacific Ocean, where millions of small bits of plastic have gathered in a vortex of ocean currents known as a gyre.â€

â€œFifteen years ago The Patch was the size Texas, but now itâ€™s the size of the continental United States,â€ says Grey, who used her iPhone to shoot the documentary, which features renowned scientists, journalists and environmentalists.

Grey paired her professional skills with her personal passion for the ocean, creating the award-winning documentary â€œAqua Seafoam Shame,â€ (www.Pacific-TV.com), which spotlights the mess in the ocean that has garnered precious little media attention, she says.

Plastic in the ocean has far-reaching implications that, if not addressed within 20 years, could change life on this planet, she says. To date, 177 species of sea life are known to ingest plastic; other species feed on those creatures, extending the chain of damage.

â€œPeople eat the seafood that eats plastic, and the planet gets its rain from the oceans, which are being polluted at an exponential rate,â€ she says. â€œWe use significantly more of our planetâ€™s surface as a dump than for growing food; this has to change.â€

To begin addressing plastics pollution, Grey encourages people to use alternatives:

Features: This charger uses solar power to re-charge up to 11Â NIMH or NiCad (D, C, AA and AAA) rechargeable batteries.

Green Factor: Rechargeable batteries can be used over and over and using a solar-powered charger is a greener choice than a standard chargerâ€”no electricity is used or required!

Bonus: Living in hurricane country, my family is well-acquainted with the issues that come with being out of power for extended periods of timeâ€”being able to recharge all those batteries we depend on when the power is down (and not likely to come back on for days) is a huge bonus!